A strategic review at the struggling security printing PLC earlier this year resulted in potential interest for both of its divisions, although Authentication was viewed as the more immediately saleable asset.
Today (15 October), De La Rue announced it had reached an agreement with acquisitive $1.4bn (£1.07bn) turnover group Crane NXT.
The Authentication business had sales of just under £103m in the year to 30 March and employs around 450 staff.
The division made an adjusted operating profit of £14.6m and had gross assets of £83.3m.
Crane NXT said the buy would strengthen its position in the $3bn global authentication technologies market, and had commercial and operational synergies with its existing businesses.
It expects to achieve double-digit returns on invested capital by year five.
Earlier this year Crane NXT acquired the OpSec authentication and brand security business in a $270m cash deal.
De La Rue said the £300m would allow the PLC to repay its existing £235m revolving credit facility in full and reduce leverage to “a net cash position”.
De La Rue has an obligation to repay the facility on or before 1 July 2025 – and had previously flagged that it had insufficient liquidity to repay it if it was unable to successfully conclude a sale.
De La Rue will also pay £30m into its legacy pension scheme, plus an additional £12.5m in deficit repair contributions over the period to April 2027.
In agreement with the pension trustee De La Rue has deferred its deficit repair contributions since April 2023 because of the group’s financial issues.
The pension scheme had a £78m deficit at September 2023.
The sale of Authentication to Crane NXT is subject to a number of conditions including the successful separation of the business and the physical separation of De La Rue’s Malta factory so that Authentication and Currency can operate independently from the site.
